Why streaming TV choices are cutting away cable subscriber levels

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Netflix series “Stranger Things” and other Netflix shows are seen in this image provided by the Los Gatos-based streaming TV company. The rise of services such as Netflix is considered a factor in the substantial subscriber losses for cable TV companies such as Comcast.

They were the source for premium channels like HBO and Showtime, and basic cable networks such as ESPN and TBS. Even if you just wanted a decent picture from your local network affiliates, you had to sign up for cable unless you wanted to deal with spotty reception from an antenna on your roof or a set of rabbit ears.

But it’s starting to look like the consumer and the cable company are switching places, and it’s the cable giants that are strapped to the proverbial barrel as subscribers flee to cheaper internet-based streaming services.

As more and more people cut the cord, cable companies’ pain is Silicon Valley’s gain. Companies like Los Gatos-based Netflix are drawing droves of new viewers to their original, streamed shows and movies while Comcast’s subscriber numbers sink.

“Choice is the new black,” said Laura Martin, media analyst with Needham & Co. “There’s never been more types of premium video content. And the consumer has never had more screens to watch all that content.”

Last week, Comcast, the nation’s largest cable TV company and the main provider of TV services in the Bay Area, reported quarterly results that included a loss of 125,000 cable subscribers — nearly four times the 34,000 subscribers it lost during the three months between April and June.

Comcast still has more than 22 million cable subscribers and isn’t going away any time soon. But six-digit subscriber losses suggest that consumers are exercising more and more freedom in choosing how they get their TV programming.

Comcast acknowledges it faces competitive threats, but it is trying to adapt to the new landscape.

“In video, new entrants, changing consumer habits and aggressive video activity from incumbents continue to result in a competitive landscape,” said Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts, during a call with analysts. “We continue to explore innovative and economical ways to reach additional (customer) segments so we can serve profitably through products like our new instant TV service.”

Chiara Rosequist, a part-time university instructor, and her husband, Andy, a public schoolteacher, rely on digital rentals from Amazon and iTunes, and a streaming subscription with Netflix for their TV viewing.

“Deep down, we were both afraid that having all that access to all the options you have today on cable was just going to glue us like brainless zombies to the screen,” said Rosequist, of Oakland. “It feels like a horrendously huge web of possibilities, a net where you can get lost into it.”

They decided to save money and got more selective by streaming only what they really want.

Netflix recently said it would raise prices on two of its three streaming subscription plans, which would put its options at $7.99, $10.99 and $13.99 a month. That’s less than typical cable bundles.

One of Netflix’s main rivals, Santa Monica-based Hulu, offers streaming plans that start at $7.99 a month and go up to $43.99 a month for a live-TV bundle that includes more than 50 channels, including the Bay Area affiliates for ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.

So-called “skinny bundles,” such as those from the likes of Hulu, Sling, DirecTV Now and even YouTube TV, represent an option for consumers who might not want a cable package if they only watch a handful of the more than 200 channels they are paying for. Such bundles are seen as one source of the subscriber declines facing cable providers.

“Live sports aside, which is a big aside, consumers can sign up for Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and a package like Sling or PlayStation Vue for half or less of what they were paying before,” said Michael Pachter, media analyst with Wedbush Securities. “And they get virtually everything they want to watch that way.”

Comcast isn’t alone in reporting declines in its cable subscribers. Charter recently reported a loss of 104,000 TV subscribers in its third quarter, and AT&T said last week that it lost 134,000 pay TV customers and 251,000 satellite-TV subscribers during its most recent quarter.

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AT&T and Comcast said their subscriber figures were affected by the impacts of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. But, even accounting for natural disasters, pay-TV providers are losing enough subscribers to be worried. They know many consumers are looking elsewhere for their TV options.

Craig Moffett, media analyst with MoffettNathanson Research, said that without the hurricanes, Comcast still would have lost about 105,000 cable customers during its third quarter. And the cable business will likely continue to take more hits down the road.

Rex Crum is the senior web editor for the business section for The Mercury News and Bay Area News Group. He also writes about business and technology for the publications' print and web editions, and has covered business and technology for nearly two decades. A native of Seattle, he remains a diehard Seahawks and Mariners fan and is imparting his fandom to his Oakland-native wife and two young daughters.

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